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Sunday, August 31, 2014

Classic Andy's Angles: National Aquarium

I have a vacation coming up in a few days, and for many years, vacation = Baltimore. It was a great place. Far, without being too far. Affordable. Plenty to see and do. I'd always make a side trip in to Harrisburg because government fascinates me.

Then, things changed. The quiet Baltimore suburb where I grabbed a hotel room became less quiet and less safe. Baltimore lost a lot of its uniqueness, and it acquired a lot of those touristy things you could find in any city-- chain restaurants, cookie cutter stores and attractions. However, the National Aquarium at the Inner Harbor remained a treasure. I took this photo in 1987, from the top of Baltimore's World Trade Center, the tallest building at the Inner Harbor.

It's hard to believe that I haven't been to Baltimore in 12 years. I'm not going to violate one of my rules: "unless you were buried under rubble, no one cares where you were on 9/11"... but that's where I was: Baltimore, MD.

I went back in 2002. I didn't feel comfortable for the reasons mentioned above. Plus, there were too many 9/11 memories from the year before.